Category Archives: Funding

NHS England plans to boost research awareness

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Plans to increase the research capacity and awareness of NHS staff have been outlined in NHS England’s draft R&D strategy, which is open for consultation.

The draft strategy, published in December, contains plans to analyse research activity and awareness across NHS England and to identify any gaps in research.

The strategy also plans to support a boost in NHS research activity across England through staff training and development, and to develop a clearer and consistent policy on excess treatment costs. Other objectives in the strategy include prioritising research topics, ensuring commissioning is based on the best available evidence, involving patients in the design of NHS research, improving the availability of research outcomes, and increasing research impact. Respondents have until 30 January to comment on the draft document. – See more at:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/gov/research-dev-strategy/

Re-imagining the high street

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Breathing new life into Britain’s high streets – Technology Strategy Board

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Business have been challenged to come up with new ways to rejuvenate Britain’s high streets, as part of an £8m investment by the Technology Strategy Board

The high street is facing a growing challenge from online shopping and out-of-town superstores.

Today’s shoppers spend more than half of their outlay away from town and city centres. While sales from physical stores, both in and out of town, have remained constant over the last five years, online sales have risen by 222% or £18.5bn.

Despite a positive outlook for retail as a whole – with increasing year-on-year retail sales and a near 20% increase in online sales over the past year, high vacancy rates and challenging trading conditions for the High St remain.

A new competition through TSB will encourage exciting new developments that could change the way business is done across our high streets – David Willetts, University and Science Minister explained the following;

“Technology plays a vital role in people’s everyday lives and has the ability to influence our movements and shopping habits. By developing innovations to regenerate the retail sector we will be able to breathe new life into the UK’s high streets. This competition will encourage exciting new developments that could change the way business is done across our high streets. Giving shoppers and businesses real time information that they can use to their advantage will make a real difference in helping to boost the UK economy. This competition is aimed at encouraging businesses of all sizes to come up with innovations that address key challenges, such as ways we can combine both physical and virtual shopping or develop real-time parking information.”

The competition, ‘Re-imagining the high street‘, is being run under the SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) programme, which provides opportunities for innovative businesses to develop products or services that solve particular challenges faced by government bodies.

Click here to find out more about the competition

Launch Event for Secure Societies Challenge in Horizon 2020

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A launch event will be held for the Secure Societies challenge of Horizon 2020 in London on 18 February 2014.

Secure Societies comprises four calls:

  1. Disaster Resilience
  2. Fight Against Crime and Terrorism
  3. Border Security and External Security
  4. Digital Security

The themes fit with the research work of the Mobile Fusion and CIISS ARCs.  The full work programme for the secure societies can be accessed here:http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/doc/call/h2020/common/1587805-14._secure_societies_wp2014-2015_en.pdf

The event will provide networking opportunities between potential partners. There will be a presentation on the Horizon 2020 funding and speakers from the UK Government will talk about the Secure Societies programme, with a particular focus on UK priorities.

This is a free event. Registration is open until 10 February. To register, go to the event website below, click on the ‘book now’ button at the foot of the page, and follow the ‘Register’ link beneath the log in field on the next screen.

http://www.techuk.org/events/partner-event/item/790-horizon-2020-secure-societies-uk-launch-event

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Philip Leverhulme Prizes

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Philip Leverhulme Prizes recognise the achievement of early career researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize scheme makes up to thirty awards of £100,000 a year, across a range of academic disciplines. The 2014 round opens on 6 January 2014 and closes to nominations on 14 May 2014.

For the 2014 competition the selected subject areas are:

  • Biological Sciences
  • History
  • Law
  • Mathematics and Statistics
  • Philosophy and Theology
  • Sociology and Social Policy

Each Prize has a value of £100,000 which may be used over a two or three year period. Prizes can be used for any purpose which can advance the prize-holder’s research, with the exception of enhancing the prize-holder’s salary.

The Prize is available over two or three years.

Please read the following before submitting a nomination.

Fo further information go to: http://leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/PLP/PLP.cfm?utm_source=FUNDING+BULLETIN&utm_campaign=2189d99bd6-FB_NOV_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_06df278404-2189d99bd6-78732765

 

Big Lottery: funding event at Staffordshire University – February 5th

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We are really pleased that Stephna Davis-Watts, Policy and Partnership Officer at the Big Lottery Fund is coming to the Ashley Centre, Stoke on February 5th.

1-00pm -4-30pm

Initially the Big lottery were reluctant to come to the University as they equated it entirely with research related work – we have persuaded them otherwise.

We have asked Stephna to make a presentation on the current opportunities for large project funding from the Big lottery and to discuss large project ideas with colleagues in the university and with  partner organisations.

We are inviting colleagues from across the university in areas of interest that the Big Lottery can fund; these include

  •  Low carbon
  • The Environment
  • Creative communities
  • Community engagement
  • Arts and creative technologies
  • Physical activity
  • Mental health
  • Public health
  • Social enterprise

The Big lottery is geared towards partnership funding – you could use the event to scope out a project idea with a group of partners –with a Big lottery expert on hand –  if there are individuals you would like us to invite as well do let us know.

For current large funds see:

http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/funding/funding-finder?area=England&amount=50001%20-%20500000

To book a place please email externalfundingofficer@staffs.ac.uk

 

 

Horizon 2020 portal update

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The Horizon Europa Website Project Team have posted the following

‘Welcome to the new website with latest information on Calls, Grants and Funding as well as workshops and training to develop the skills necessary to be successful in winning those grants.

Just about everything is new from Logo to layout, plus a new 5000+ page EU programme database specially designed for researchers and advisors,

You may already have seen the Logo video, if you haven’t and you have a minute for a bit of fun watch it here

You can find the site at www.Horizoneuropa.eu 

For existing members, profiles and subscriptions have been transferred, however you will need to log in and reset your password by following the ‘forgotten password’ link.

For non members the site has expanded dramatically, guides, newsletters and eventually videos and presentations are accessible by registering for “Free stuff!”

Follow this link to Download Our FREE 15 page “Horizon Europa’s Guide to Horizon 2020”

If you’re waiting for the Experts page to be up and running this is now fully functional click here to register.

And finally if you like what you see please share it with your colleagues

Funding for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Growth research

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Grants for innovation, entrepreneurship and growth experiments

Nesta have launched a call for proposals for “experimental research that provides evidence on the best approaches to increase innovation, support high-growth entrepreneurship and accelerate business growth”.  

The scheme is looking to fund a range of approaches through randomized control trials. Example activities provided include models of technology transfer from universities, different approaches to managing and stimulating innovation, networks and collaboration, open innovation, innovative procurement, amongst others.  The call documents highlight economic and social entrepreneurship and return on investment will be supported.

Given our University research and HEIF expertise we expect a lot of interest in this call so please contact externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk if you are interested to ensure we have a coordinated approach. 

The call deadline is 24th February with further details at http://www.nesta.org.uk/about-us/work-us/grants-for-innovation.

 

Research Seminars Competition 2013-2014

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ESRC

The ESRC is making funding available for UK research organisations to hold Research Seminars for groups of academic researchers, postgraduate students and non-academic users from different organisations including the public sector, commercial private sector and civil society sector. Seminar groups designed to bring together leading international researchers and stakeholders from across disciplines to identify new research agendas or capacity-building priorities are particularly encouraged. 

Seminar groups meet regularly to exchange information and ideas with the aim of advancing research within their fields. 

These grants are non-fEC and are limited to £30,000. This covers:

  • justified travel and expenses for speakers and participants
  • justified secretarial costs
  • justified project specific stationery, postage, copying and telephone costs
  • justified hire of rooms and facilities (when the host institution or other collaborating organisation cannot provide these facilities).

Closing date for applications is 16.00 on 28 January 2014

Further information including details of previously awarded Research Seminar grants is available at:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/3677/research-seminars-competition.aspx

January’s Wider Outlook is here!

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January’s Wider Outlook concentrating on the commercialisation opportunities offered by the Technology Strategy Board and the newly announced Erasmus+ programme – replacing all the European Commission’s lifelong learning programmes is here:

http://bit.ly/1hBCTDR

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New Generation Thinkers

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On Monday 6 January the Arts and Humanities Research Council and BBC Radio 3 are opening The New Generation Thinkers scheme for 2014, for early-career researchers with a focus on arts and humanities topics.

Emerging academics from the arts and humanities, who are currently in UK universities and who have a passion for communicating the excitement of modern scholarship to a wider audience are invited to apply for the opportunity to develop programme ideas and appear on air.

The New Generation Thinkers Scheme is intended to support up to sixty early career researchers who will have an opportunity to spend the day at the BBC to hear first-hand about the commissioning process and to develop their programme ideas alongside experienced BBC producers. Up to ten of the sixty researchers will become Radio 3’s resident New Generation Thinkers for 2014 and will have a unique opportunity to develop their own programmes for BBC Radio 3 across a year and a chance to regularly appear on air. This is the fourth year of the scheme. Previous participants have presented documentaries, taken part in on air discussions on BBC Radio 3, made pilot films for TV and spoken at public festivals.

The New Generation Thinkers scheme also works with BBC TV Arts who will be looking to develop New Generation Thinkers and their ideas into arts television.

Applicants do not have to be funded by the AHRC to apply. The scheme is open to all early career researchers based in a UK Research Organisation. This year, the call is being extended for researchers who work in areas of social sciences and medical science whose work intersects with the arts and humanities.

Further information will be available on the disciplines covered by the scheme in the New Year at the New Generation Thinkers call page.

To read the announcement of the scheme go to http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/News-and-Events/News/Pages/Do-you-want-to-tell-the-world-about-your-work-2014.aspx